Today, engineering entertainment. The University of Houstonís College of Engineering presents this series about the machines that make our civilization run, and the people whose ingenuity created them.

Frank Oznowicz had a life changing experience in 1961 at the age of seventeen. Oz, as heíd later be known, was attending the Puppeteers of America convention in California where he met, ďthis very quiet, shy guy who did these absolutely ... amazing puppets that were totally brand new and fresh, that had never been done before.Ē The guy he was referring to was Jim Henson, and these amazing puppets were called Muppets.

Hensonís workshop would create many memorable Muppets over the years, with the most endearing — and enduring — found on Sesame Street and The Muppet Show. Sesame Street alone is seen in over 140 countries and watched by hundreds of millions of viewers. What is it about the Muppets thatís made them so popular?

For one, Muppets are neither marionettes with their complicated strings, nor are they as limited as simple hand puppets. They borrow from both.

Muppets are operated in one of two basic ways. With hand-rod Muppets, the puppeteerís right hand fits into the Muppetís head while the left hand operates the Muppetís arms with rods. When the Muppetís head is made of soft material, the puppeteerís right hand not only moves the Muppetís mouth, but can express feelings. Kermit the Frog brims with emotion when dealing with the mishaps of Fozzie Bear or the advances of Miss Piggy.

The second type of Muppet is the live-hand muppet. Here, the right hand is placed into the head, just as with hand-rod Muppets. But the left hand is placed into the Muppetís left arm. This arrangement allows the Muppet to grasp things. And the Muppetís right hand? Itís operated by another puppeteer, which requires the puppeteers to coordinate in close proximity. To those in the trade, the second role is called right-handing, and itís given to the more junior puppeteers. Cookie Monster is free to gobble cookies thanks to live-hand puppeteering.

Of course, the Muppetís mechanics contribute to their popularity, but itís the characters that audiences have grown to love. Who can resist Dr. Bunsen Honeydew and his hapless assistant Beaker? Or Animalís animated drumming? Or the Swedish Chef?

[audio: Swedish Chef]

Jim Hensonís colorful creations have charmed generations of fans, young and old. And itís all thanks to a little creative technology and a lot of imagination.

Iím Andy Boyd at the University of Houston, where weíre interested in the way inventive minds work.

[audio: Muppet Show theme song]

(Theme music)

Notes and references:

There are many variations on the two basic types of muppet discussed here. See the references for a more detailed discussion.

This episode has used the term muppet generically. The characters from The Muppet Show are owned by the Walt Disney Company, and those found on Sesame Street belong to the Sesame Workshop. The Jim Henson Company retains rights to others, including the characters from Fraggle Rock.